Phasing of implementation and disapplication of aspects of the national curriculum Question 13: Do you agree that we should amend the legislation to disapply the national curriculum programmes of study, attainment targets and statutory assessment arrangements, as set out [in the consultation document]6?

There were 2,451 responses to this question.

Yes 604 (25%) No 982 (40%) Not sure 865 (35%)

Respondents who agreed with the proposal believed that disapplication of the elements of the national curriculum set out in the consultation document would allow schools more time to prepare for the introduction of the new curriculum and that this was necessary for such a substantial change. They also felt that the freedom to teach what they wish in national curriculum subjects would allow schools to have the option of using their existing schemes of work or to introduce improvements which may be able to assist with the introduction of the new programmes of study. However, some of these respondents also suggested that disapplication should be for a longer period and implementation of the new curriculum should be phased in more gradually.

Following further cleansing of the data, the percentage of respondents answering ‘yes’ to Question 13 has increased by 2%; those answering ‘no’ has decreased by 3% and those ‘not sure’ increased by 1% compared to the figures published on 3 May 2013.

Respondents who disagreed with the proposal expressed the view that this would lead to schools reducing teaching time for foundation subjects. There was also a view expressed that disapplying elements of the curriculum would lead to an increased argument for there being no prescribed curriculum in schools. It was also suggested that as schools had already planned their teaching for 2013/14, the propoal to disapply programmes of study at this point had come too late. Concerns were also raised as to how disapplication would be reflected in Ofsted’s inspection process.

In contrast with other consultation questions, only a small percentage of respondents went on to provide a rationale for their answer. Of those that did, the majority used this question to register concerns about the timetable of the implementation of the new national curriculum as a whole, rather than addressing the issue of disapplication specifically.

Other comments Question 14: Do you have any other comments you would like to make about the proposals in this consultation?

There were 1,680 responses to this question.

745 (44%) respondents who provided comments thought that the proposals should be developed further before being implemented.

394 (23%) respondents called for greater space for creativity within the national curriculum.

Comments reflected a desire for more opportunities to develop pupils’ understanding and skills within what was considered to be a knowledge-based curriculum.

298 (18%) respondents felt that teachers should be consulted when implementing the new curriculum. Some respondents felt that teachers had not had sufficient involvement in the debate and were well placed to contribute and to shape delivery. Others commented on the need to trust and support teachers as professionals and to recognise the pressures that many schools face in relation to the accountability and assessment framework.

252 (15%) respondents raised the position of academies in relation to the national curriculum and suggested that the curriculum should not be considered ‘national’ when academies were not required to follow it.

Next Steps The Department has published a response to the consultation findings which can be found here.

We have also launched a consultation on the draft of the legislative Order required to bring the new national curriculum into effect for first teaching in all maintained schools from September 2014. The consultation document, draft Order and revised national curriculum framework document can be found here.

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